Cyber Uncut

As Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese moves to secure the Pacific and ensure continued alignment with Australia, China threw a wrench in the works by conducting a ballistic missile test, effectively firing the starter's gun on a countdown to war.

In a chilling diagnosis of the Australian political landscape, the latest Contested Ground podcast presents a blunt thesis: the nation has traded the rigorous, strategic statecraft of the past for a hyper-partisan focus on domestic "household" economics, leaving Australia dangerously unprepared for the brewing realities of global conflict.
Hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson sit down with former Department of Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo to unpack a harsh truth. The political class has become obsessed with the "household offer" – the immediate, transactional relief of cost-of-living policies at the expense of long-term strategic vision.
Pezzullo argues that modern politics has atrophied its ability to handle global affairs because, quite simply, politicians no longer view deep strategic expertise as a necessary tool in their belt.
The conversation takes a sharp turn when Pezzullo, leaning on his decades of experience, offers a sobering assessment of the Indo-Pacific. He posits a 10–15 per cent probability of a major Pacific conflict by 2028, a window tied to China's internal political calendar and the strategic positioning of US combat assets in Australia.
This isn't merely academic posturing; it is a call for an integrated national plan that currently does not exist. Pezzullo's warning is clear: while Australia has a "quiet" military culture and lacks the martial fervor of other nations, this complacency is a liability when facing a potential major power confrontation.
Perhaps the most provocative thread of the discussion is the challenge to our current leadership's capabilities.
When asked if the current political establishment is equipped to manage a national crisis of this magnitude, the consensus is grim. The conversation draws parallels to Yes, Prime Minister, suggesting that while current leaders might try to channel their inner Churchill when pressure mounts, they lack the foundational historical and strategic literacy that defined the era of leaders like Kim Beazley and Gareth Evans.
The podcast concludes on a pessimistic but realistic note: proactive leadership is unlikely. Pezzullo suggests that the system is so entrenched in domestic optics that it may take a significant crisis, an event more traumatic than a pandemic or supply chain shock, to force the necessary "overpressure" on government.
Until that catalyst arrives, the national security apparatus remains in a holding pattern, hoping for peace but arguably failing to prepare for the strategic storms on the horizon.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Contested Ground team

Cyber criminals and nation-state actors are no longer relying on malware alone – they're exploiting trust. Here's what you need to know to fight back.

ThreatLocker's Emile Barakat joins Cyber Daily's David Hollingworth to help Australia's business leaders understand how threat actors target professionals on platforms like LinkedIn – and how it needs to be addressed.
Whether it's a fake recruiter, consultant, or business partner, attackers invest weeks or months in building credibility before asking victims to open a file, run code, or share sensitive information. The old advice of "don't click suspicious links" is no longer enough – employees must learn to question suspicious opportunities just as much as suspicious emails.
Traditional security awareness training also needs an overhaul. Quarterly phishing exercises remain important, but modern attacks increasingly hide behind legitimate-looking software, trusted open-source tools, and highly personalised AI-driven social engineering.
The message for business leaders is simple, says Barakat: assume your organisation is a target, regardless of its size.
Enjoy,
The Cyber Uncut Team

While Australia's level of political atomisation is far from as bad as what is being experienced in the broader Western world, we're not far-off. How we engage with generations of Australians will have dramatic ramifications for our national security in the immediate and longer term.

Following mounting political tensions across the Western world, with startling examples in the United Kingdom in recent weeks, Australia and Australians have been watching with bated breath as to how long it will take for those simmering tensions to boil over closer to home.
These undercurrents have served to combine with mounting intergenerational hostilities and competition over employment, housing and lifestyle opportunities, with younger Australians increasingly feeling like they were sold a bung deal.
Speaking with Ben Dullroy of Bravo Delta Advisory, host Steve Kuper unpacks the rising political isolation, tensions and, for the establishment parties of Australian politics, concern over the rise of populism on both the left and right of the political divide.
The pair detail the areas of comparison and contrast between Australia and other similar nations like the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, discussing emerging trends in the respective political discourse and agenda setting and what Australia can do to avoid the same pitfalls as some of our compatriot nations.
They also discuss the impact of immigration, declining employment prospects and one of the most overlooked aspects behind social cohesion – the dating scene and the intersections of social and cultural investment and national security.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Contested Ground team

Qualys' CEO joins the Cyber Uncut podcast to explain why autonomous remediation, smarter patching, and risk-based security will define the next generation of cyber defence.

Cyber security is entering a new era as powerful AI models dramatically reduce the time it takes attackers to discover and exploit vulnerabilities. In this episode, Qualys CEO Sumedh Thakar joins Cyber Daily's Liam Garman to explain why businesses need to look beyond the headlines surrounding Anthropic's Mythos and focus on what AI really means for cyber risk.
The conversation explores how organisations can turn the tables by using AI to identify and remediate vulnerabilities before attackers strike. From smarter patching to autonomous remediation and risk-based prioritisation, Thakar outlines why speed, not just visibility, is becoming the defining factor in cyber defence.
Looking ahead, the pair discuss why AI-driven attacks will demand AI-driven security and why CISOs and business leaders need a roadmap for autonomous remediation. If you want to understand how AI is reshaping both sides of the cyber security battle – and what your organisation should do next – this is an episode you won't want to miss.
Please see links to the reports below:
Verizon 2026 Data Breach Investigation Report (DBIR) [palink.co] – includes data by Qualys from Section 7 of Qualys TRU's The Broken Physics of Remediation report [palink.co]
The Broken Physics of Remediation
Enjoy,
The Cyber Uncut team

As Australia faces a populist political surge and the established political parties continue to lose ground, can Australia's "sensible" centre hold, or will decades of failed policies, broken promises and declining economic opportunities finally come home to roost?

In a departure from its usual international focus, Contested Ground turns to domestic tensions sparked by the federal budget. The hosts argue that this has become a sustained point of public frustration rather than a short-term political issue.
Hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson question whether Australia is moving away from its traditional "sensible centre" towards greater political polarisation.
A central theme of the discussion is the declining level of trust between Australians and the political class. Dr Thompson argues that governments increasingly risk creating division through policies and political strategies that focus on wedge issues rather than building consensus. The conversation references debates, including the Voice referendum and responses to international crises, as examples of issues that have contributed to heightened social tension.
The discussion also turns to housing, taxation and the economic pressures facing younger Australians. Tarrant raises concerns that government policy settings, including changes affecting self-managed super funds and capital gains tax arrangements, may have unintentionally reduced investment capacity and worsened housing supply pressures.
The hosts question whether Australia is continuing to promote an outdated version of the "Australian Dream" while younger generations face record debt levels, higher living costs and greater financial uncertainty.
Ultimately, the episode explores a bigger question: is Australia experiencing a fundamental shift in its national identity and political culture?
The hosts suggest the country may be moving away from the traditional "sensible centre" that has defined much of modern Australian politics towards a more divided environment, where competing extremes increasingly dominate public debate. They warn that maintaining social cohesion will become harder if political leadership continues to prioritise short-term political advantage over long-term national unity.
The episode concludes with a call for a renewed style of leadership – one focused less on political point-scoring and more on honesty, transparency and bringing Australians together to confront the economic and strategic challenges ahead.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Contested Ground team